The Harvard’s men’s soccer team expected a battle when it took on a talented Yale team in New Haven on Saturday. What it didn’t expect was the match to be decided by a questionable call in its opening minutes.

But in the eighth minute, senior Jon Napper was called for a hand ball in the box. Yale forward Andrew Dealy capitalized on the ensuing penalty kick, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 win over the Crimson (3-3-2, 0-1-0 Ivy).

Goalie Matt Aleksinas posted his third straight shutout for Yale (5-4-0, 1-0-0).

“It was a pretty even game,” sophomore Brian Charnock said. “They just happened to come out on top with a gift from the ref.”

The arguable penalty seemed to take the momentum away from Harvard, which had beaten Duke 3-2 and suffered a hard-fought 1-0 defeat to No. 5 North Carolina last weekend.

“We had been passing the ball around well and were in a great rhythm,” Charnock said. “After that goal, we had trouble getting our game back on track.”

The Bulldogs entered the game riding a high of their own after pulling off a pair of 1-0 wins, including an impressive victory over Connecticut that snapped the Huskies’ 20-game regular-season home unbeaten streak.

The Bulldogs were especially prolific on the offensive side of the field, outshooting Harvard 13-8 and keeping the pressure on Crimson sophomore goaltender Ryan Johnson (four saves) all night.

Yale’s offense was aided by the Crimson’s game plan, which flooded the Bulldogs’ end of the field with attackers but left Harvard vulnerable to counterattacks.

“Yale did well to take advantage of the numbers we were putting forward by catching us on the break numerous times,” Johnson said. “Luckily, we made a couple of key tackles and I had a couple of saves.”

Harvard nearly tied the game late in the second half on a shot from freshman forward Matt Hoff, who is tied atop the Crimson points list with seven and is the reigning Ivy Rookie of the Week. Hoff found a clearing 10 yards away from the goal, but his shot sailed high over the net and with it went the Crimson’s best chance to even the game.

Johnson thinks that the tough game against Yale could act as a wake-up call as the Ivy season kicks into full swing.

“It was a physical game,” Johnson said. “Obviously we ended up on the wrong end, but we have a long road in the Ivy League and it may have been the reality check we needed.”

Before Harvard can redeem itself in conference play against Cornell Saturday night, it must first dispatch with Central Connecticut (5-1-2), which it hosts Wednesday at 2 p.m. The Blue Devils are currently riding a five-game unbeaten streak after beating St. Francis College 5-1 yesterday.